Take a few moments to try out our six new interactive stations installed in June 2006. They will introduce you to important concepts in palaeontology such as geologic time and continental drift, helping prepare you for your journey through the Museum.

Touch, play and explore as you learn more about how species adapt to changes around them and what makes the Red Deer River Valley the perfect spot for finding dinosaur remains. Ever wonder how a fossil is created? Discover the six steps fossils go through, from the animal's death to being displayed at the Museum.

Nexen Inc., a dynamic Canadian-based energy and chemicals company with operations world-wide, sponsors the Science Hall.

Explore Alberta as it was 70 million years ago. Wander through a dried out riverbed amidst a pack of Albertosaurus and listen to the soundscape to see how many different animals you can identify.

The Cretaceous Alberta gallery was inspired by the work Museum scientists conducted at Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park, where over 22 albertosaurs were excavated from one of the richest theropod bonebeds on record. Not only are the bones rare in their abundance, they are also shrouded in intrigue. The dinosaurs in this mass grave appear to have died within a relatively short period of time, leaving scientists to speculate on what might have led to their demise.

After a very successful summer, and the launch of three new permanent galleries, the Royal Tyrrell Museum is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit Great Minds Fresh Finds.

Great Minds Fresh Finds celebrates the Museum's great scientific thinkers and some of their most memorable discoveries. World renowned for it's engaging programs and dynamic exhibits, the essence of the Museum – the active research program that fuels both programming and displays – is hidden away behind the scenes. This exhibit is about the scientists and curators who work here and the wonder that inspires them.

Highlights of Great Minds Fresh Finds include some of the most recent fossil discoveries of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. In fact, many of these discoveries are so new that this is the first time they are on display. From a 15-foot tall sauropod leg to tiny Cretaceous mammal jaws, you can discover them all.

At the preparation lab, visitors can watch as fossils are prepared for research and display. Many of the species of dinosaurs on display at the Museum were discovered right here in Alberta, and Dinosaur Provincial Park is one of the richest dinosaur fossil sites in the world!

In the summer, many of the technicians are out in the field prospecting and collecting. During the winter months, they meticulously remove the fossils from the surrounding rock in order to interpret and record their findings.

Witness the savage beauty of the beast in this new exhibit highlighting some of the most rare, fragile and scientifically significant pieces from the Museum's collection. From the lithe raptors perched atop classical Tuscan columns to the dramatic death poses elegantly encompassed by gilded frames, these creatures are nature's very own works of art. This gallery showcases such significant specimens as our name sake J.B. Tyrrell's initial discovery to the rare gem that is "Black Beauty" - Lords of the Land houses some of the best we have to offer.

The Burgess Shale is a layer of rock found high in the Canadian Rockies in Yoho National Park, near Field, British Columbia. What was once a watery home to over 140 species of soft-bodied organisms is now a mountain ridge 2300 metres above sea level.

This full-colour, three dimensional walk-in diorama features 46 of the Burgess Shale creatures at 12 times their actual size. Imagine facing a creature with seven pairs of legs, seven sets of waving tentacles and a head that looks like a light bulb. Enter their strange world and marvel at the wonders that lived together 545-490 million years ago.

We are grateful to the EnCana Corporation, the lead donor of this diorama. Additional support for the gallery was provided by: The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, The McLean Foundation, Museums Assistance Program and The Canadian Geological Foundation.

The Devonian Period is the midway point of the Palaeozoic Era, 418-355 million years ago. This Period has been termed the “Age of Fishes” because of the great proliferation of species of fishes at that time. Giant marine reefs and extremely complex habitats grew in a tropical sea that covered most of Alberta.

This recreation of a 375 million-year-old reef environment is a slice of Devonian life. Thousands of life-like models work together to give you a close-up view of what things were like when Alberta was underwater!

Learn about the processes of the retreating sea and the layering of microscopic animal remains, which were the first steps in the creation of Alberta’s key industry, oil and gas.

Take a stroll and travel back to a time when Alberta was a humid region, rich with swamps, ponds and marshes, and hungry herbivores.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum’s Cretaceous Garden is one of the largest living collections of prehistoric plants in Canada. It is a representation of plant life in the Drumheller Valley (Horseshoe Canyon Formation) during the Late Cretaceous Period (70-65 million years ago).

With over 75 different genera and over 600 species, the Garden offers new insights into the flora of the Horseshoe Canyon Formation based on the fossil record. It allows for comparisons between rare prehistoric plants and the plants we know and live with today.

Within the gigantic Dinosaur Hall, we have close to 40 mounted dinosaur skeletons on display. Every summer, crews from the Tyrrell Museum hunt for new fossils to add to our collection. After almost 20 years of fieldwork, we have more than 120,000 specimens in our collection!

Bring your camera for a photo beside one of the biggest carnivores of all time, Tyrannosaurus rex. Watch for Albertosaurus, the dinosaur first discovered by Joseph B. Tyrrell. From the land to the sea to the sky, the reptiles of Dinosaur Hall make it the most popular gallery at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.

As you pass through the Cenozoic Arch, you're entering the most recent era in the history of life on Earth. The Cenozoic is sometimes referred to as the Age of Mammals, a time of experimentation with a wide range of adaptations. Here you will learn that change, not stability, is the nature of our world.

Mammal diversity exploded to include many interesting forms, such as sheep-sized herbivores, fast-running flesh-eaters and small insect-eaters. Beavers, wolf-like Mesonyx, primitive whales, three-toed horses, and rhinos also began to appear.

Visitors can trace the evolution of mammals as they became more modern and recognizable.